Meet Mark

Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Sisson. I’m 63 years young. I live and work in Malibu, California. In a past life I was a professional marathoner and triathlete. Now my life goal is to help 100 million people get healthy. I started this blog in 2006 to empower people to take full responsibility for their own health and enjoyment of life by investigating, discussing, and critically rethinking everything we’ve assumed to be true about health and wellness...

Weekend Link Love – Edition 269

We’ve got another Primal Blueprint Transformation Seminar date lined up. Mike DiLandro will holding a 2 1/2 hour presentation in Huntington, NY on Saturday, January 18. You can learn all about the seminar and get your tickets here.

Comment of the Week

Exactly.

To clear up any confusion, the point of my response was that if you’re losing muscle, you’re walking too much. Anytime you’re using walking as your only exercise and you’re sitting in a large chronic caloric deficit (the guy was down 7k calories a week), you’re going to burn lean mass.

Otherwise, walk all you want.

– Just in case anyone was considering hanging up their Vibrams for good.

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I may print out that infographic and give to every new patient upon check in.

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Bethany

3 years 9 months ago

Would be great if the graphic included info about fiber- so many folks are convinced they have to get their fiber from grains. I can’t seem to convince them if they just ate more veggies they would get all the fiber they need!

It does– it says any nutrients or fiber you get from whole grains you can get from fruits and veggies and in greater abundance. But yeah, might’ve been better if it was pulled out and emphasized with a visual.

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Kim

3 years 9 months ago

Play is essential for kids. When my kids were in preschool, I always chose the 3-day a week program (versus 4 or 5 days), so my kids had plenty of time to play. It’s that previous level of childhood play, ingenuity, being outdoors, etc. that helped us put a man on the moon. My brother-in-law (a teacher) went to a conference with a Chinese delegation who said they were now modeling their education programs after the US model from the 1950s and 1960s – meaning, no standardizing testing, less homework, more time for creativity and play, both at school and… Read more »

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BillP

3 years 9 months ago

“I’m no trans-fat fan, but I believe this move by the FDA sets a dangerous precedent for other vilified nutrients”.

That’s right, let’s throw out all science, even when they get it right; after all, there’s nothing worse than a Government Regulation.

Except maybe sitting on your hands for the sake of a Libertarian posture (the ultimate anti-Paleolithic social philosophy).

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Gail

3 years 9 months ago

If they ban trans-fats, how long before they ban bacon?

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Wenchypoo

3 years 9 months ago

…or ALL forms of sat fats?

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Wenchypoo

3 years 9 months ago

In Mark’s defense, I think he may be referring to the possibility of the FDA picking up where Bloomberg left off–or maybe taking direction from Bloomberg. Sure, putting a limit on the size of soda you can buy in a grocery store wouldn’t affect you and me much, but what about everybody else? And what about that salt elimination thing? If this is the case (that Bloomberg becomes the impetus for a national nanny-state), then Bloomberg may as well become an ersatz Surgeon General–who died and made HIM a nutrition expert? Sure, we will rejoice about everything except the salt,… Read more »

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charles grashow

3 years 9 months ago

Do you wear a hat made out of tin foil??

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Brandon Enos

3 years 9 months ago

Whether trans-fats are unhealthy or not is not the issue. The issue is whether you want the government to have the ability what you do and don’t have the right to put in your body. Especially when they still demonize salt and sat. fats and use “science” to back it up. You really want them to have that power? And how is libertarianism anti-paleolithic, or even wrong? I don’t interfere with you, you don’t interfere with me and up and until the point where our actions interfere with another’s rights, it’s no one else’s business what we eat, watch, who… Read more »

I totally agree. Maybe instead of banning things, we could work on educating the general public on what is actually in their food. I’m consistently shocked at the number of people who ask me about why I eat this way, and then truly have no idea what they are eating, nutrient-wise. Food related disease may become less of a problem if, as a society, we weren’t quite so ignorant about our food choices.

I agree with BillP as this move is likely to improve the health of many Americans.

While some people might be concerned that saturated fat or salt will be next, bear in mind:

That it took Fred Kummerow a bit of effort to get this to happen

With saturated fat* and salt there is a debate, whereas there isn’t really a debate as to whether artificial trans fats are bad. Besides, the view of the mainstream is not that saturated fat is bad, but that polyunsaturated fats are better

Agreed. I see a number of people using the disingenuous “slippery slope” argument.

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Richie

3 years 9 months ago

It is a slippery slope, and it is not a “disingenuous” argument.

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Joshua

3 years 9 months ago

It’s not a slippery slope argument, it’s the whole slope. What is disingenuous is to say that certainly government will stop with this. It doesn’t take a tin hat to observe how government works.

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james

3 years 9 months ago

You’re the fella putting your trust in the same group that OK’d aspartame (among countless other unnecessary and harmful pharmaceuticals and food additives). Now who is really posturing for the sake of some bogus idea or group?

Yeah I’m a non-trans fat ban either but I too take the libertarian approach here – in the same way that I don’t think ultra size sodas should be banned either. People are going to buy what they’re going to buy and eat what they’re going to eat. As the market tends to dictate, some companies have started marketing non trans-fat options simply because the market is asking for it – just like the current organic foods movement you see in the shelves of supermarkets. The problem with banning trans fat is: what are they going to replace it with… Read more »

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dragonmamma

3 years 9 months ago

There’s an update at the end of the Coke article: Only the Coke sold in Mexico will be switched to HFCS. Mexican Coke sold in the US will be the same health-tonic it is right now.

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Nocona

3 years 9 months ago

Loved the sprint info. I’ve found I’m doing just about the same sprint every week. Gonna be switching it up every once in awhile now. Thanks.

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Anna

3 years 9 months ago

Well, yes. It is possible. “Like it or not, we traded the health of the individual human for the overall good of mankind and the development of civilization.”

I think you are adding a little much to the meaning of the information.. there is no right or wrong per se just a clarification of exactly what you get from what.. and “billions” of people.. can eat whatever there is locally to eat.. the fact that grains are the cheap and plentiful solution is not right wrong either.. but if you are basing your nutrition on the perceived goodness of grains and ignoring the benefits of vegies instead.. ( that is about 80 % of the western world ) you will be and have been sadly misled.

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2Rae

3 years 9 months ago

Reading about the schools that offer learning through play and interest was wonderful. I wish there was one near us. I hate having so much “home work” for kids. There is no time to play outside let alone create, explore and just run around after the school work is finished, especially during the dark days of winter here. I plan to set a hour limit and if it’s not done during that time it’s not done. Nothing can replace play and what it does to the little brains. I love hearing my son in his room or the bathroom (for… Read more »

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Noschooler

3 years 9 months ago

That is a reason why I am ‘unschooling’ my kids. I want them to have the freedom to learn what, when, and how they want. School is a soul sucking prison. How is it we all forget that when we are adults?

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Erin

3 years 9 months ago

I agree formal education is overrated. If we had exercised our creative sides more as adolescents, we’d probably all be CEO billionaires. Or so one could hope. 😉
unfortunately, the current biz calls for several initials after your name to get any kind of respect and a decent income.

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The Beckster

3 years 9 months ago

I don’t understand the FDA and trans fat. What about “everything in moderation?” *being sarcastic*

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George

3 years 9 months ago

The author of the polymaths article argues that we should try many things yet asserts “For a year I studied an hour a day three days a week and made minimal progress. For a further year I switched to an intensive course of five hours a day five days a week. The gains were dramatic and permanent …”. So, try many things but focus really intently on one thing at a time???

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2Rae

3 years 9 months ago

I think you’ve got it, focus really intently on one thing at a time but don’t be stuck there. Makes me want to learn Chinese or Swahili, learn to dance and sing well. Now, to carve some time out to do it…. hmmmmm

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Diane

3 years 9 months ago

I think the point with the trans fat is that there is no level of it that is safe for consumption. None at all. They would not be able to make the same claim for saturated fat, salt or sugar and for that reason a ban is not going to be coming down the pike any time soon. The FDA does not ban things that have safe levels of consumption.

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Natasha

3 years 9 months ago

RE: trans-fat…. let’s not forget the lovely times of prohibition when no one drank any alcohol and how good that was for the country (yes that was sarcasm). or how about the war on drugs? banning any substances just creates more criminals and violence. i personally try to keep as healthy as possible, but that is my choice alone. no one has the authority to impose their values on anyone, even if they are harmful (unless of course they harm others). yay libertarianism / non-aggression principle! (which is totally in line with paleo – it was always survival of the… Read more »

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b2curious

3 years 9 months ago

I really liked the article about the “new” ligament in the knee. I used to coordinate medical care for Army National Guard Soldiers in my state, with Line of Duty (LOD) injuries, and over the years, we’ve had a few Soldiers with torn ACL’s that just never really healed right and had istability issues. If we’d known about the ALL (and had a surgical technique to fix it), maybe the knees could have been properly repaired. I’ll have to pass on the info to the lady that does the LOD’s now.